If Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is healthy, he's going to play for Canada at the World Junior Championship, his agent said.

"He told me late Friday night, 'I want to play for my country. I just want to play in that tournament,'" Rick Valette told Sportsnet.ca on Sunday. "He wants to win a gold medal. My instincts tell me that he'll play."

Nugent-Hopkins, the Edmonton Oilers' No. 1 pick in 2011, had 18 goals and 34 assists as a rookie and should be in his second NHL season. We all know that's not happening. Instead, he's been playing for the AHL's Oklahoma City Barons, where he had eight goals and 12 assists in 19 games.

He played through some shoulder discomfort and has gone back to Edmonton to have that checked out—he missed 20 games last season—but if he's healthy, he'll be on Team Canada's roster and on the ice when training camp starts on Dec. 10.

The World Juniors will take place Dec. 26 to Jan. 5 in Ufa, Russia. Because of the NHL lockout, this season's tournament could draw even more attention, particularly in Canada. Along with Nugent-Hopkins, standouts are likely to include defensemen Dougie Hamilton, Morgan Rielly and Scott Harrington, and forwards Jonathan Huberdeau and Mark Schiefele.